We are members of the scientific community that are continuously building the knowledge base on climate change in the Philippines. Our mission includes making evidence-based information actionable to increase the resilience of Filipinos against the climate change impacts that affect our most vulnerable communities. The impacts of climate change are affecting more and more Filipinos every year and we call on our national and local governments to take urgent action.
As scientists, research experts, and educators, we work closely with decision-makers of government policy, business, and other groups with the greatest capacity for sustained climate action. We are making a call to the next administration to take urgent action on the climate emergency through this brief synthesis that has benefitted from evidence-based inputs from various climate change experts, researchers, and actors.
We are hoping that this climate emergency agenda be placed with priority as one of the next administration’s proposed programs. We provide a concise synthesis below that establishes why the climate emergency should be integrated alongside national plans and priorities, followed by an outline of concrete strategies for various sectors that the next administration may take to address climate change in the Philippines:
How important is Climate Change?
Globally, Climate Change is the most significant problem today. Is it more critical than poverty, food security, economic recovery and disaster mitigation in the Philippines?
It is not. BUT while we need to do our part in curbing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions which threaten the very existence of the planet as we know it, the more compelling reason why Climate Change should be a priority issue of the Philippines is that a harsher and less predictable climate will exacerbate existing problems: the poor and vulnerable will likely be poorer and more vulnerable, food scarcity will worsen due to warmer and more variable weather, struggling local industries may fold due to external factors affecting the value chain, and more frequent and intense typhoons will neutralize any future economic gains.
What are the major impacts of Climate Change?
Food insecurity, forest and biodiversity loss, water scarcity and flooding, and threat to human health – these effects are consequences of an increase in average temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns, as well as sea level rise, a change in the course and pattern of typhoons, and more intense El Niño and La Niña events. But they also lead to graver consequences that on the surface may not seem to be caused by climatic changes but in reality are triggered by these changes. Food insecurity has caused local unrest in many areas. Forest and biodiversity loss has led to loss of livelihood and the spread of zoonotic diseases. Water scarcity and flooding has led to infrastructure damages. Extreme weather events have caused the loss of lives.
What are being done?
There are two approaches to climate change – climate change mitigation where we reduce our GHG emissions and limit the warming of the planet as much as possible, and climate change adaptation where we prepare our communities and the economy to cope with future climate change impacts. These approaches go hand in hand since there are synergies and co-benefits in implementing them. The Philippines is not a major contributor to GHG emissions that cause climate change and global warming. Because there is no boundary to the dispersion of the GHG emissions, all countries are affected, independent of the size of the GHG contribution. However, their impacts depend on the level of a country’s vulnerability in terms of location, financial resources, governance and available knowledge/technology). Vulnerability can be addressed by increasing our adaptive capacity to the disruptions. Hence, it is strategic to focus on adaptation measures. With projected temperature increases of 1.5 °C by the 2040s and potentially more than 4.0 °C by the 2100s, we need to ensure community resilience, environment sustainability and business continuity. Proper planning for future conditions will result in more resilient communities and overall improved competitiveness as a country despite climate change.
What can we do right away?
Climate mitigation and climate adaptation should not be regarded as separate and independent actions from any national or local plan or program. Virtually all strategies to solve the most pressing societal problems of today need to consider future climate change scenarios, if we are to achieve long-term sustainability. More importantly, all climate-related policies and projects will have to be based on data and scientific evidence. How are issues of national development and political action undergirded by climate science? The following are some of the immediate strategies that may be implemented with a climate lens:
On FOOD SECURITY and FARMERS’ RESILIENCE. Prepare for frequent and extended droughts and flooding by developing an accurate forecasting and early warning system, especially for agricultural production. Provide adequate advisory services including training to farmers on the adoption of alternative, heat-, flood- and drought-resilient crops. Improve the access particularly of smallholder farmers to market, postharvest facilities, crop insurance, and financing institutions. Strengthen the network and linkage of smallholder farmers to concerned local government unit offices, national government agencies, academe and other partners.
On HEALTH AND HUMAN SECURITY THROUGH MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES. If we are to reduce the burden of diseases and improve health, we need water. No life on earth can live without water. A water conservation and efficiency program starting with properly valuing water resources is urgently needed. Too much water through extreme rainfall must also be managed. Water storage is key to addressing changing rainfall patterns. When properly planned, located, and managed, reservoirs and rainwater harvesting structures can store excess water during the wet season for irrigation and domestic water supply.
On FOREST ECOSYSTEM SERVICES THAT SUPPORT LIVELIHOODS, INDUSTRIES, AND A LIVABLE ENVIRONMENT. A more robust watershed and ecosystem-based forest management, development, protection and restoration strategies, and an honest-to-goodness forest resources accounting and monitoring need to be implemented. Forests absorb GHGs as well as rain water that may otherwise cause excessive flooding, erosion of surface soils, and rain-induced landslides. Forests improve air quality and help reduce heat, and are primary sources of wood, food, and other forest products needed by industry, indigenous peoples, and other forest-dependent communities. Our forests are also among the richest in biodiversity in the world. Integrated management of forests, rivers, lakes, coastal and marine ecosystems along with agroecosystems and other managed ecosystems will secure resilience of ecosystems and the uninterrupted flow of its services that are vital to a viable economy and human welfare. Urban forests and green spaces can also help minimize the urban heat-island effect.
On the SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC BENEFITS FROM AQUATIC RESOURCES, AND THE SURVIVAL OF COASTAL COMMUNITIES. At least 60% of the population, and almost all major cities, live along the coast. This means that the Philippines is still largely a maritime nation with over 7,600 islands and 18,000 km of shoreline. Coral reefs and coastal habitats are vital to fish harvests, which in turn serve as sources of livelihood and industry support. Climate-related threats to this ecosystem can lead to significant economic and societal collapse. This vital resource is threatened by rising sea levels, warmer waters and coral bleaching that are more prevalent here in the Western Pacific than elsewhere. Biodiversity conservation and a more sustainable utilization and management of coastal resources must be strengthened at the local level, with the support of the national government and the cooperation of other stakeholders from civil society and the private sector. Monitoring is required to correspondingly implement measures to address policy and institutional gaps and reduce these impacts.
On COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE AND NATURAL HAZARDS. Strictly implement the Ridge to Reef / Watershed Ecosystem Management approach to comprehensive land use planning as prescribed in existing guidelines, and willfully enforce zoning ordinances to keep communities away from climate-related and other hazards. Flood control infrastructure should be properly designed and strategically placed. To the extent feasible nature-based solutions to flooding should be prioritized over structural measures. The Philippine Climate Change Assessment (PhilCCA) estimates that in 2016 alone, agricultural damages due to tropical cyclones and associated impacts such as flooding and rain-induced landslides amounted to PHP 20.7 B, while the national budget for flood mitigation projects in the same year was pegged at PHP 54.6 B.
Sadly, many of these strategies do not figure prominently nor are they regarded as development priorities in past national agendas and plans. We recognize efforts done so far to put in place climate mitigation and adaptation programs. Many of the above strategies have figured in discussions on national development priorities. However, our findings in PhilCCA, as reinforced by recent IPCC reports, point to the imperative need for more urgent whole-of-nation action to fight climate change. We are rapidly losing time. The incoming administration can, thus, play a pivotal role by actually setting in motion clear, concrete and financially viable programs to address and overcome this crisis. This can be started by having a proper clearinghouse mechanism for government projects tagged as climate change adaptation and mitigation projects.
Once again we are calling for the climate emergency agenda to be placed with priority as one of the next administration’s proposed programs. While it is the welfare of citizens that often take center stage in these platforms, and rightly so, public leaders have the ability to systematically frame our efforts and get our nation to invest in these strategies today if we are to protect the present and future generations and eventually overcome this climate emergency.
Sincerely,
CARLOS PRIMO C. DAVID, PhD (Former Chair, NPTE; Professor, UP-Diliman)
RODEL D. LASCO, PhD (Former Chair, NPTE; Executive Director, Oscar M. Lopez Center
JOSE RAMON VILLARIN, SJ, PhD (Manila Observatory; Former Member, NPTE)
ROSA PEREZ, PhD (Manila Observatory; Former Member, NPTE)
REX VICTOR O. CRUZ, PhD (UP-Los Banos; Former Member, NPTE)
LEANDRO V. BUENDIA (International Climate Change Consultant; Former Member, NPTE)